Hard Questions
by Strangerfan88
Summary: Mike was her second half. He had held her hand through every new experience and gave her the confidence she needed to try new things. She trusted him just as much as she trusted Hop, sometimes more. Mike was a little more straight-forward when it came to answering the hard questions. And today she had a hard question.


Hey guys! This is my first Stranger Things short story. I have one other chapter planned, it probably won't continue after that as I don't have a lot of time to write. Hope you enjoy!

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Eleven paced back and forth on the porch as she waited for Mike to arrive. It was Saturday morning and Nancy would be dropping him off around 10, just like she has every Saturday for the last 6 months. El and Mike spent as much time together as possible, which was difficult considering Hopper would barely let her leave the cabin. She couldn't wait for the day when she could be a normal teenager. To be able to go out with her friends, and attend school, these were the things she wanted. But for now, it was enough just to have Mike. Their relationship had blossomed quite a bit since the Snow Ball. Their bond was stronger than ever. Mike was committed to being there for El no matter what. Mike and Hop taught her as much as they could about life and being a functioning member of society. Eventually the time would come for her to join the real world and they wanted to prepare her as much as possible. She knew whatever questions she had they would always answer honestly. She looked to Hop as a father figure, he would always be there to protect and guide her. And Mike... Mike was her second half. He held her hand through every new experience and gave her the confidence she needed to try new things. She trusted him just as much as she trusted Hop, sometimes more. Mike was a little more straight-forward when it came to answering the hard questions. And today she had a hard question.

She heard the car approaching and a knot formed in her stomach. She tried to settle herself down with a few deep breaths. Nancy pulled up in front of the cabin and waved with a warm smile on her face. Eleven waved back. She was always so nice. She treated El like a little sister and even gave her all of her hand-me-down clothes. Mike hopped out of the passenger's seat and shut the door. He rushed up the steps with a sly grin on his face and didn't stop until he was right in front of El. Without any hesitation he swooped in and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hey," he breathed as he pulled away, "I missed you." They had just seen each other yesterday afternoon, but she felt the same way.

"I missed you too." she confessed with a shy smile. With that she grabbed his hand and led him inside. She had a new sense of confidence now that he was here in front of her. She knew she could ask him anything and didn't have to be embarrassed. They headed to her bedroom passing Hop who was planted in front of the TV. He glanced at them as they entered the room.

"Three inches..." he reminded with a stern tone.

"Three inches." Eleven repeated, only slightly annoyed. She pushed the door closed as far as she could get away with, then walked to the radio on her dresser and turned it on. She didn't want Hop to hear this conversation. After she found a station and adjusted the volume, she took a step toward Mike lifting her arms and bringing them around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Instinctively Mike's hands found her waste. He leaned in, tilting his head slightly and kissed her. This was different then the kiss outside. They held each other close and continued kissing until El pulled away to catch her breath.

"So, what would you like to do today?" Mike asked in a cheerful tone. "Play a game? Walk down to the quarry?" He shuffled over to the bed and sat down, scooting back to lean against the wall. He grabbed one of the magazines that Max had given her earlier that week, "Read some girly magazines?" he chuckled as he started to flip through the pages. The knot in El's stomach started to form again when he grabbed the magazine. Coincidentally a magazine is what had sparked the question she was afraid to ask. She didn't know where to start but that was as good of an opening as any.

"Read the magazine..." she suggested in a soft tone. Mike looked at her a bit perplexed, he wasn't really serious about the magazine, he truly had no interest in it. But if that's what she wanted to do, then that's what they'd do. He had a hard time saying no to her. He patted the bed and she climbed up, scooting herself back against the wall next to him. Mike handed her the magazine.

"Anything specific you wanted to read?" Mike asked. Eleven looked down and bit her lip, but didn't answer. "El? Are you ok?" She nodded but did not meet his gaze. He didn't buy it. "I can tell somethings up, what's wrong?" He implored.

"I..." she started, "have a question." she confessed. Mike smiled reassuringly.

"Ask away" he encouraged. She still couldn't meet his gaze. He could tell she was embarrassed, but didn't know why. El usually had no problem asking about things she didn't understand. He reached out and took her hand in his, "You can ask me anything, you know that, right?" She finally looked up at him, he could see the worry in her eyes. "So, what is it?" Eleven took a deep breath.

"Mike... What is sex?" Mike's heart nearly stopped when he heard the word come out of her mouth. His eyes bulged and a lump formed in his throat.

"W-what?" he managed to choke out. El was startled by his reaction.

"Sex..." she repeated, "what is it?" Mike opened and closed his mouth a few times not knowing where to start, or if he should be the one to tell her. "Is it bad?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"Uh no, no. It's not bad," he reassured her. "Um, where did you hear about sex?" he asked curious and a little concerned. El hesitated for a minute before reaching under her pillow and pulling out another magazine. Mike saw the cover, Cosmo. His mom read it as well so he recognized it. He had never really known what was in the magazine, but figured he didn't care because it was women stuff. Apparently it was a little more than that. El flipped through it before finally landing on a page. In big pink letters at the top of the page it read, '5 Secrets to Improve Your Sex Life'. Mike swallowed hard. "Where did you get this?" he asked calmly.

"Max." El answered. Of course, Mike thought. He gathered his thoughts for a minute, trying to figure out the best way to approach this subject.

"Well, sex is something two people do when they really like or love each other."

"It is secret?" she asked, confused by the article.

"Kind of..." Mike responded. "It's something that you don't talk about with a lot of people, it's private. It should stay between you and the person you're doing it with." He didn't know where to go from here, did she want details?

"How do you do sex?" she asked. Mike looked away, his cheeks turning bright red. He took a breath and exhaled loudly.

"Well first you take off all your clothes," El's mouth fell open a bit.

"Naked?" she asked, unsure.

"Yeah, naked," Mike repeated. She thought on this for a moment. She was trying to imagine being naked in front of Mike. It gave her an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Then what?" she urged. Mike's face was now red hot. Talking about these things with her was almost too much. Considering he spent most nights fantasizing about having sex with her.

"Then you kiss," he continued, "and you touch each other."

"Where do you touch?" she inquired with genuine curiosity.

"Everywhere," Mike looked her in the eye, imagining his hands all over her naked body. He felt a stir in his pants and tried to block out those thoughts. This conversation was really exciting him.

"Is that all?" Eleven wondered aloud. She didn't think it was, considering the things she read in the magazine. She didn't understand it, but it seemed like it was more than just kissing and touching naked.

Mike thought for a moment. She'd basically given him an out. He could say that's all it was and not have to continue with this awkward conversation. But she had to find out sometime, and if she knew he'd withheld information from her she would be upset. He couldn't break the trust they had built.

"No, there's more." he started. "Do you remember the anatomy book of mine that you looked through one day?" he asked, trying to jog her memory, "You read about how men and women are physically different?"

"Yes." El remembered very well, learning how different they actually were. "Women have vaginas and men have penises," she stated matter-of-factly. Mike chuckled a little at how easily she could discuss the topic. It didn't even phase her.

"Right. So," Mike started. "when a guy gets really excited like that... his," he paused. He couldn't believe he was about to say this, "his penis gets hard."

"Hard?" Eleven queried.

"Yeah, hard." Mike confirmed, "It's called an erection, most people call it a boner."

"Boner?" she repeated.

"Yes, a boner." Mike chuckled nervously.

"What do you do... with the boner?" She was trying to grasp what Mike was saying, but it was still so unclear. Mike sighed; this was the difficult part.

"Well, when a girl gets excited like that.." he started. "Her, her...vagina," he cringed at the word, embarrassed to say it out loud, "gets wet."

"Wet?" Eleven was trying to follow along, but this was all very confusing.

"Yes, wet." He knew what was coming next, so he looked down at their hands, fingers intertwined and just said it. "Then the guy puts his penis into the girl's vagina." he explained carefully. Silence followed and after a few moments he looked up at her. She was staring straight ahead, trying to sort it all out.

"Why?" She finally asked.

"Why what?" Mike replied. She turned to look at him.

"Why do you do sex?" she asked, still confused. Mike smiled at her.

"Because it feels good. Really good." he answered honestly. She pondered this for a moment.

"Have you done sex?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"No! No!" He quickly assured her. "You're the only girl I've ever kissed." That made Eleven smile. She liked that he was all hers. She looked him in the eye.

"Mike?" She asked in a serious tone.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"You really like me," she stated confidently. Mike nodded vigorously. "I really like you," she continued, Mike smiled softly and nodded again. "Can we do sex?" she asked, so innocently. His breath caught in his throat and there was another stir in his pants. All he wanted was to say yes and have her right then and there, but he knew this wasn't the time or place. He mustered up all of his self-control.

"I, uh... I don't know. I think... I think we should wait." He said trying to convince himself more than her.

"You don't want to do sex with me?" El asked, a lump forming in her throat. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes at the possibility of rejection.

"El, that's not it at all." He answered. "I want to have sex with you, believe me. I really, really want to," He glanced toward the door, praying the music was loud enough to drown out the sound of their conversation. "But Hopper would kill me if he found out." Eleven followed his gaze, glaring at the mandated gap between them and their privacy, and it finally clicked.

"Three inches," she said, obviously frustrated. Mike nodded.

"Three inches," he confirmed. They were quiet for a moment before spoke again. "We should be patient," he encouraged. "Wait for the right time, when we're alone and we're both ready. It's a big step."

El thought on this for a moment. Still not completely grasping what the big deal was. Why did they have to wait and why did Hopper even care? Mike had answered a lot of questions though, so she decided to let it drop.

"We'll wait." she agreed. Satisfied for now, she decided to change the subject. "Can we play cards?" she asked. Mike breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course, we can." he smiled and stood up to retrieve the cards from the top of the dresser. Eleven watched him as he moved across the room, trying to imagine him naked. She would be patient. For now.


End file.
